That ranked a mere 16th among the players on the NHL's highest-priced roster.

But the volatile third-liner suddenly became worth $3.5 million midway through Game 3 Sunday night when he drilled the Blackhawks' Brent Seabrook behind the net.

Torres, who jacked the unsuspecting Seabrook in the jaw with a raised arm and left him an awkward lump for a few moments, received a two-minute penalty for his effort.

"It was tough to see from the bench where the puck was," Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa said. "By the way Seabrook was turning, it looked like the puck was on his stick. I don't see any problem with it."

Meanwhile, it wasn't much longer before Seabrook and his $3.5 million salary headed to the NHL's new "quiet room" to deal with the cumulative effects of the hits he took.

The Hawks' top defenseman, who returned for the third period, became the latest casualty of the Canucks' relentless physical play.

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville declared after the Hawks' 3-2 loss that Torres merited a major penalty for his hit on the "big Western Canadian kid."

"Somebody else might have been on a stretcher," Quenneville said.

Canucks coach Alain Vignault, of course, compared Torres' shot to a few blows his guy Dan Hamhuis took during the regular season -- at least one of which wasn't penalized.